All Wrapped Up

EEEK! Can you believe that Christmas is in 8 days??? My craft-tastic desk has been disheveled for well over 2 months (ok ……..ok ….if you ask the hubster It’s been this way from the day he built it) and I think I have burned all my fingertips off in the process!! But I added 6 new holiday candy dishes this year with all the ideas swirling around in my head, it could have been more (but the hubs would probably have divorced me so I better not push my luck)!! Ha - it’s been fun! Pretty sure at some point the hubster will either change the locks or go on strike from being my master spray painter!! Maybe…………….just maybe he will re-instate my spray painting privileges……..but I am pretty sure that I have a better chance of pigs flying before that ever happens! I don’t know something about, getting spray paint on the car, garbage can, the house, the dog ….the ………..well everything other than what I am actually spraying!

 

As for the Prince, I am over the moon with the progress he has made!! These past few months have been amazing, in watching him grow and overcome some of his issues. I had my first teacher conference this week, it’s the same ol’ same ol’ on the comments from the teachers, he does GREAT work …..WHEN you can GET him to do it and turn it in! Yep…………..I’ve heard it all before! Over the past few months, he has traveled out of his comfort zone more and more, it makes me so proud.  

The Prince and I did some Black Friday Shopping, we left the house at 12:30am and retuned at 3:30am. We had a blast, went to a few stores, he may or may not have whacked an old  lady in the back of the head with a comforter set on accident, which usually would have derailed our day - but he just moved right past it, thankfully so did the lady!!!  The Prince wanted to make sure that anytime I am out at that hour, I needed to make sure he was with me……. For my own protection…..from all the hoodlums out at that hour. I assured him that this was not an everyday thing that stores were open all hours of the night and neither were all these people!

“S” his new friend, that’s just like him, has been a God send for us all!! They went to Orlando last month for the day to Mega Com, with good ol’ Uncle B, he is convinced they communicate telepathically!! And then the hubster had to travel over and pick them up that evening, he also confirmed it was the “quietest car ride ever”! So maybe that’s the reason the Prince had 2200 text messages last month, or at least 2197 of those were to her, the rest could have been to me and the hubster!

“S” has had tough times in her young life but she has overcome so many obstacles and she is an amazing young girl and a great friend to the Prince! So sweet, and caring and thinks that she is at that school just so she can help the Prince overcome some of his anxiety’s and issues! “S” even convinced him he needed to get a haircut ………. WTH?? Really?? Can she come over and tell you to also clean your room, do your homework and the other million things I ask him to do? Now don’t go all crazy thinking you could actually TELL he got a haircut ……but he did get a trim ……… a very small trim, but its baby steps!!

So this year as we are thinking about Christmas (did I mention it’s in 8 days) the Prince told us he wanted to get “S” a computer, that’s all she wants for Christmas and that’s what I want to get for her. Over and over again this has been his plea that this is what HE wants for Christmas, is to be able to get this for her. She has had tough times, and this is all she wanted and he told her that’s what he was getting her. WHAT??? I was flabbergasted that a 14 year old would even think to say something like this, much less promise someone this is what he was going to get her, but yep …. That’s my gem ….and that’s what he did!

We’ve had long talks about how things are, and how much money that would cost and why we couldn’t possibly do that. But the Prince was persistent and told us this would be HIS Christmas present, that we wouldn’t need to get him anything, not one single thing, this is what he wanted and it’s the only thing he wanted. We explained that “S” wouldn’t be able to get him a present like this is return, and he replied “ I already have a computer, I don’t want anything but to get her one of her own, she’s my friend and she deserves it”.

Taking a step back, looking at the big picture and seeing what a positive effect she has made in his progress, I would almost op to buy her a friggen brand new car …..if I had unlimited funds of course!!! So last weekend the most amazing thing happened, Mama Pepper called to say that Pop Pop Pepper wanted to take the Prince and go pick out a computer for him to give to “S” for her Christmas present! The Prince of course would have picked out a $10,000 top of the line laptop with all the bells and whistles, but he was very happy with the laptop that they picked out for her! He is over the moon to be able to do this, and I am so proud at how mature he is being! I mean really if you think stop and think about it …….I don’t know many grown ass adults that would give up getting a present  just so their friend could get something they really wanted.

So while the Prince is super excited and has his wrapping paper all picked out, from our Black Friday shopping trip ( I couldn’t figure out why he picked out wrapping paper with owls on it……….and then told me I wasn’t  allowed to wrap anything with it, that he needed it ……..….humm I know now that our little friend likes “owls” ) J It should be interesting to see how this gift giving goes, considering he bought her an anima hairclip in September for her birthday …………and the Prince still has it in his binder and now uses it for decoration!! Last week at the craft fair, he picked out an owl bookmark – (that’s when I put two and two together about the owl wrapping paper) but at the Christmas show last week he had it in his pocket, they sat and next to each other texting …… and I nudged him about the bookmark …..he just sat there ……….and I did what any mother would do …….whipped it outta his pocket with a big grin on my face handed it to “S” and said ….”Here you go honey, we saw this at the craft fair and thought of you”!!!

Did the Prince turn 42 shades of red and give me a wide eye roll …you bet our sweet- ass he did!! But that’s what moms do! And apparently from my conversations with the Prince I am “annoying”,  “ he can’t believe that we could be related” “ he just doesn’t have the energy to DEAL with my annoying-ness  in the mornings because he is to tired in the mornings” so I’d say ….I am right on track! Pretty sure my Mother of the Year Award is on it’s way! And for that matter so is my Wife of the Year Award as I sat through a Christmas Musical last night …….. (if you know me …you know I am not a fan of Christmas Music ….its okay for an 30 minutes …. Maybe  … on Christmas morning….) and tonight’s date night is the prescreening of Star Wars......

I look forward to the New Year and what new things it will bring both big and small milestones and new adventures for me, the Prince and the Hubster! Bring it on ~ We’ve got this 2016!

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shouting from the rooftops

Its October already??? How can that be?? I've been asked a lot "How is the Prince doing? You haven't written anything lately ...." (I'm just amazed people read my nonsense)  I should be shouting from the roof top .............but I'm afraid of heights! I am so happy and so proud to say that the Prince is still going strong and doing great! I think it helps that he may be sweet on a girl at school, according to him, "She is just like me! She has social anxiety, she likes anima, she loves animals and doesn't like people" - yep that's sounds just like him! He is excited to go to school because he has her in his 1st class and sits with her at lunch (in a classroom .....far, far, far away from people), he is excited at the end of the day when he gets in the car to tell the hubs how his day went.

Now with that all being said.........he is still an asshat in the mornings, because he is up half the night and still doesn't have his sleep in a normal pattern.......and I'm not sure he ever will. Thankfully he showers at night now- so its once less issue in the morning to deal with. He has earned his bedroom door back after losing it for nearly a year, now my arguing consists of "Why he is always shutting his door". So if that's my biggest concern right now,....I'm okay with that! But I will still nag him for that .... its my job....to be annoying and to nag .... pretty sure I had to sign a contract to be a mom!!

At the open house at school, all the teachers had great things to say (and most of them were not saying them because it was their job they seemed to truly mean it ). The common theme with the teachers were "WOW - he is so smart, the way he thinks and puts stuff together is amazing and he does awesome work ..... WHEN you can GET him TO do the work .....". Yep we all knew that was coming, when he likes a class, a teacher he does fantastic ....however when there is no interest ... well then their is no effort put into it. The Prince tested the highest in the entire school for SRI testing (language arts and reading comprehension) they told him the highest grade you can get on that test is 1330 .....he tested at 1325 .....which is basically an above average 12th grade level ............yet he has an "F" in language arts ......because he doesn't like the teacher or the class (which according to him is full of thugs) .... go figure???

For now I'm not stressing as much as I should be about grades, because its been along time coming that things have been calm, that he has been happy and my little world is at peace. I haven't had leaky eyes in weeks, I don't stress like I did when it was time to go to school, to come home from work, or to just breathe. I'm enjoying his sarcastic, funny, witty self more and more everyday At least we know he gets its honestly .......from his dad..........not me ....no ... not me ......sarcasm  comes from the hubster.  He'll get it, he's to smart not to get it, I hope that he pulls it together soon, I kinda made a promise that if he made straight "A"'s all year I'd buy him a super computer .....I'd give him a $5000 budget .....and if he graduates with straight "A"'s  I'd take him to Japan...his reply was "WOW dad, look mom is throwing money at me left and right" LOL . So far I'm not going to be getting him a super computer at the end of this year, but you never know - it could happen!

It's been along time since my mind has been clear enough for my creative spark to return. My wheels are turning and my glue sticks are rapidly depleting, my craft table is a hot mess as I am back crafting!!! I actually had someone at work say to me the other day "I'm so glad your son is doing well, its amazing to see the difference in you and your spark has finally returned"  and here I thought I had it all together at work .....for the most part that is. I know we still have along way to go, but everyday I feel like I am a bit closer to the end of the tunnel, and everyday the light seems a bit brighter.

Following The Rainbow Home

Its been a long time since I actually prayed, I mean dug deep into my soul and reached out for that guidance and gave it my all to get a connection to the big guy in the sky. Its sad but true, I stopped praying when our prayers weren't answered and we lost both Aunt Doll and Papa within 2 months of each other. Maybe I was holding a grudge for taking them so close together, that I just stopped making that call. Whenever I have lost a loved one, I have always seen a rainbow, within minutes of receiving word that they had left this earth, I would look up and there would be that rainbow. That rainbow that gave my heart a flutter and for a moment the sadness would disappear, because that was their calling card to me, to say its okay.

Over the past few weeks I have seen many rainbows, maybe its from the countless days of rain we have experienced, or maybe its my guardian angels on the other side, trying to show me the way. Its been an exhausting summer, the mornings were long and rough with our daily trips to the therapy center, but I can honestly say that it was worth every leaky eye moment and countless F-bombs I had to text to get where we are today! The change has been amazing, I am in awe everyday seeing more and more progress and even family and friends who didn't realize it was as bad as it was, now finally see the light because they have seen such a drastic change as well.

Last Monday, was the first day of school, the Prince was very nervous, especially Sunday night, you could see the anxiety building throughout the weekend, but by Sunday I thought he was going to explode. This isn't your typical "1st day jitters" this was a " holy shit I am going back to school, I cant do it mountain of anxiety" . I'm not sure I slept Sunday nor did the Prince, once my alarm went off I sat up on the side of my bed and noticed there was a rainbow, shining off the sliding glass doors from the light in the bathroom, it made my heart flutter. Sitting on the edge of the bed for the first time in a long time .....I prayed .........I prayed for the Prince to make it through the day, to make this be it, make this be the right path for him to follow, to make all that we went through worth it, I prayed for light to lead me  in that dark tunnel we had been traveling, I prayed for peace and happiness in my heart, because I don't know what else I can do.

I was amazed at how great he went off to school, how he got out of the car even thou he was so nervous, he was doing it, I felt so relieved as I pulled away from the school leaving him. I finally felt at peace ...............until 12 minutes later and as I pulled into work my cell phone started ringing and it was the Prince............sobbing so hard that a teacher had to get on the line with me. He was having a major anxiety, panic attack. I whipped my car around and 12 minutes later I was there at the school ..... only 24 minutes into the new school year ............thinking to myself ...........obviously my connection to the big blue sky was disconnected or maybe I got a busy signal ..... because this wasn't what we had discussed this morning!!! I took PC outside and let him sit in the car, I tried talking to him, reasoning with him that he's got this, he can do this, and when he was ready, we would try, try again. In the meanwhile I was back at sending my F**K, F**K, F**K text to my mini support group aka  girlfriends! While I was engrossed in my own pity party of "OMG's this cant be happening, what am I going to do", I realized that the car door opened and PC was standing outside of my car ready to try it again....... 48 minutes into the school year ....here we go again.

I anxiously awaited for the hubster and the Prince to call with how wonderful school was, sadly I didn't get that call, instead I got the call how much he hated it and wasn't going back....to many "thugs" and disruptive kids .......SHIT ,,,, there go my leaky eyes.... again........will this ever end??? When I got home I laid with the Prince and he told me about his day ... ... It wasn't so bad ...... and he had some very interesting stories to tell..........

Day 1 - we learned that one of the teachers had 14 felonies by the time they were 12 ... and taught in the prison system ... I thought the moral of the story was " They turned their life around ... and now are helping others". Apparently the moral of the story was "They aren't afraid of the thugs"

Day 2 - the morning had a rough start - Again I anxiously awaited for the after school call and held my breathe to hear how it went .....and he had a good day ... WHAT??? Seriously??? Are you kidding?? It was good?? And he thinks he will like it .... well .....he will like it better when the thugs are gone....

Day 3 - Stomach bug - for all those nah sayers ..... it was real ... the smell out of that bathroom could kill someone ......

Day 4 - Had a good day ...OMG - this melts my heart.......he also met another anti-social girl ...
 and he decided that one of the teachers hair reminds him of his stuffed pillow when all the stuffing came out of it ... ummm yeah I don't know WTH it means....but it was a good day ... so I will take it

Day 5 - It was another good day - We made it an entire week (minus one day) - and he is willing to return on Monday!!! OMG - that's fabulous!!!



As I drove home Friday night, there is was......right in front of me.......the biggest brightest rainbow I have ever seen, leading me home. And once again I felt that flutter in my heart and I knew it was my army of guardian angles telling me that it will be okay, we've got this!

Now if we can just master getting our homework done...................

Learning the 2 Step

Lately I feel like I am practicing my dance moves, two steps forward, two steps back ,cha cha cha …. But  inquiring minds want to know …..Is it working? And how is the Prince doing in the intensive therapy program?  As to be expected he hates it, thinks it’s stupid, and doesn’t know why he needs to be there, some days are good, some days are bad, some days are better than the day before. It has been a long, exhausting 4 weeks and 18 days, with many days of leaky eyes (some days his eyes leak …some days my eyes leak) ……... BUT, I think we are making some progress....Of course some days we make way more progress than other days!! But I guess progress is progress.

I'm ever so thankful for my amazing support system of friends and family, I'm thankful I have friends that I can just text the F-Bomb to 100 times if I need to, because some days you just gotta scream or text) F**K , F**K , F**K !!! Just to feel better and carry on!! Well and I'm pretty sure they would frown on me screaming it there at the center!! And now I have a gift fairy at work, who drops little fun goodies off for me .... it puts a smile on my face, especially when its been a leaky eye day!! So thank you all for the love and the support ~

I’ve learned a lot of things in the past 4 weeks, and I know that my situation could be so much worse. Everyone’s struggle is different and unique. All the kids at the center are there for very different reasons and everyone’s OCD’s, Phobias and  Anxieties are different. I’ve watched the past 4 weeks, as some of the kids have phased out of the program and got to return home, many of the families are from out of state, so I am thankful that I am simply across the bridge!!! And I am hopeful that we too will phase out sooner than later.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the lobby, mainly because the first 2 weeks,  the Prince and I would argue the WHY’s he needed to be here and do these things, so I would need to just walk away and let the therapist work with him without me.  I spent many times just observing in fascination, some of these other kids, watching what they had to do and spoke to their parents, I want to know about the issues they have, I almost crave the conversation, so I didn’t feel so alone and isolated. But as I said all issues are very different.

Some of the kids we have encountered have been  “Shower Girl” she took 3 hour long showers, with the water running ……she would first CLEAN the entire shower, scrub every inch of it, take apart the drain and shower head  (I don’t think I’ve ever done that ever) after the shower was clean she would get in, still water running, have to scrub ever kook and cranny plus her very long rainbow colored hair, then she would redo the ritual of cleaning the shower again… yes with water still running for 3 hours!! After she was out of the shower she had about 10 other rituals that she had to do between 500 to 1000 times EACH!! Her mother told me it literally took her almost 5 hours to get ready to go anywhere!!!  Her last day after 10 weeks she took a 16 minute shower!! She also could not ride in the car without the window cracked because she had to continually push the germs out the car window…….arms failing about especially when her mother sneezed or coughed! The therapist made them sit in the car with the windows rolled up, so that the germs couldn’t escape ….while the mother coughed and coughed…and not all while NOT covering her mouth.

“Contamination Boy” he won’t touch anything ……..and hadn’t left the house in over 2 years. Simple things like the door knob, picking something up from the floors, walking by people, even people breathing the same air as he, would cause him to hold his breath until he passed out most times so that he didn’t get the contaminated germs. One of the things he was required to do ……..to help get him over his fear of contamination and germs… was stick his hand in the toilet water (several times) and NOT wash it (ewww) and then shake someone else’s hand …… needless to say …. I was sitting on my hands in the lobby that day, not making eye contact because I did NOT want to be that lucky someone to shake his hand!!

Another “Contamination Boy 2” argued the facts about cleanliness for over 45 minutes refusing to participate and why he would NOT sit on the hardwood floor, with the therapist who was sitting there on her knees with palms planted firmly in contact with the floor, then she put her face down on the floor and when she stuck her tongue out to lick the floor, I think he almost past out from that exposure. I am certain that my eyes grew wide just watching!

 I sit in fascination watching these events take place, I think that some of these methods are CRAZY ......... but fast forward 5 days later I walked into the center with “Contamination Boy 2” actually sitting on the lobby floor, with his hands palms down and looking at his parents and the therapist and instead of arguing, he smiled and said “What’s next- that was easy”.  Next up was to catch a cockroach, I didn’t stay for that adventure as they headed to the stairwell on their search for a giant cockroach (ewwww).

“Hair Eater” he pulls out his hair (eyebrows, eye lashes, head, arms etc.), and eat it, but he also pulled out his mother’s hair (or maybe cut it – I don’t know) while she slept to eat it! His mother had to cut off her hair off to avoid the situation. He also has issues with personal space, rolling chairs and calling mom “Chubby” and squeezing her thighs…. Well among other things.  

“The World’s a Virus Boy” from what I can tell he thinks he will catch “Flesh eating bacteria virus” from basically doing or touching anything … he has only been there a few days, today the same therapist that was licking the lobby floor, told him that he probably already had it and he would probably die by Monday ……he laughed and said “I know, I know, but it could happen” and then he moved on to his other exposures for the day.

To watch these kids, and see the struggles that the kids and parents have, it’s been an eye opening experience. I watch with fasciation as one by one, these strange treatment methods have these kids come out of there comfort zone and face their fears. As for Prince Charming …. Some days he works on it, other days he refuses totally, but once he realizes that I’m not giving up and we aren’t leaving until he does his “exposures” then he eventually will get started.

Yes its true some days (ok ….most days)  I want to just toss my hands in the air and yell “ F**K it”   ~ runaway from reality, take a break and toss in the towel and say your right, you don’t need to be here ~ I’m done~ but then there are days like today, when he did it , he did all of his extreme exposures that make his skin crawl, and put him so far out of his comfort zone like actually walking up to people and speaking to them, while looking at them, playing a game with them and best of all … .doing it all with his hair out of his face, so that he didn’t resemble Cousin It! So with that, comes hope that I am doing the right thing, no matter how painful this process is, I am doing it, because in the long run, it’s what’s best for the Prince.  

 

 

  
 

Keeping The Tunnel Lit

It's true, I wear my heart on my sleeve, I am an open book, you have witnessed some of my deepest joys and sorrows through my blog, I admit it,  I’m an over-sharer, true story, I tell all, some days all you have to do is ask, and I'm like a flood gate gone bad, other days, I have to wait until I have it sorted out, .......somewhat....then I can tell my story. 

There is a reason for my sharing, (I'm hoping to be swooped up by an agent for my keen writing skills ....minus the spelling and grammar)  I am not just that into myself where I think everything that happens in my life is so friggen hysterical ( some days i think I could have my own reality show), or I have the most difficult child in the entire world  and you need to know that ( well yeah - I think  I do), or I have the most adorable fur pups known to mankind ( well that's a true statement ). Mostly it’s because I feel like someone out there has got to have experienced these things before, maybe they can shed some light on things, or at least light a match so I can find my way out of the tunnel!!! 

 I don't discriminate, I write about the good, the funny,  the bad, and the ugly. I write because sometimes, that's all I can do, as Elsa would say "Let it go". And since my brain at the moment has entirely to many browsers open, that's what I need to do...."let it go", even thou it means over sharing! I'm laying here in my pjs, pinned down by 2 fur kids, on either side of me, and the cat plotting our death perched on the dresser at 1:30am (debating what he can toss off to hit me in the head)  I imagine it makes some feel better to read about the crazy struggles happening in our life, maybe it's because you can relate and feel like your not alone or maybe it's because you say to yourself ..... “Boy I’m sure glad that's it's not me"!  

As many know, this has been a long, tiring year for the hubs and I with Prince Charming we have struggled to figure out what to do when our square peg, doesn't fit in that round hole .....I've tried everything from putting him in a small charter school, withdrawing him from school, enrolling him In homeschool, virtual school, nothing has worked, and a few months ago at the doctors appointment it was suggested that he go to residential treatment center. My insides have been screaming NO since those words were uttered out loud, and my eyes remain a leaky faucet. I know what you are thinking....What? Why? He's just going through a phase, he's a teenager, sadly .....it's not a phase, the struggle is real, and we need to get our head out of the sand and face the facts, we are fighting a battle we can not do alone , he suffers from depression, anxiety, ODD,OCD and ADD. I struggle as a parent, with the what ifs? What haves?  Why me? Why us? What did we do to deserve this? It's a selfish, yet real way of thinking.

The past few months, I have worked diligently in "exhausting all efforts" to get the Prince the help he needs, of course there are several roadblocks that we have slammed into head first. In this journey I have discovered what a shitty mental health system we have, it's nearly impossible to get mental health care for children who are not (thankfully) abusing drugs,alcohol or sucidical. They don't meet the criteria, for certain programs, but hey let us know when he does!!! Seriously?? This is the world we live in,where you can't get the much needed help to prevent stuff like this from happening?? Then when you do find a program......the insurance denies coverage, because it's out of network....but I could go to its sister center located in another friggen state for $25 a day.....the location 30 mins from home, is $275 a day!!! WTF?? Are you kidding me??? That's our healthcare at its finest right there!!! Or let's put him in a drug rehab, because it's in network!!

 I'm almost certain, by the time we are done with this, I will need to be committed!!! 

After a solid month of negotiations with the local center, the insurance company, the contractors, the insurance writers and me making daily calls to admissions for this outpatient treatment center, that solely focuses on his issues at hand.....I finally received the call TODAY that they would take my insurance and he starts next Tuesday! Finally, I feel like I can breathe. That's one hurdle crossed, the next will be next Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and everyday after that ......, taking the Prince and making him participate in his wellbeing and overcoming his issues. We have had long talks, that if this doesn't work, if he doesn't TRY then he will be in a residential center and no he will not like those options ........ok I have talked long, he grunts at me. I think he gets it, I hope he gets it, I pray he gets it. 

We had a good week, a better week than we have had in a long time, he got over and helped Mama Pepper a few days, he went out a few times with the hubs.....in public .....in the daytime....did I mention .....in public........around real humans! That's huge!!! So it gives me hope, that he is willing to try and he will beat this! We will beat this! 

I hope that someday the Prince will realize and appreciate  the great lengths and efforts that we have gone through to try and do what's best for him, I hope it is BEFORE he is picking out my bed in a nursing home..... 

But for today I have hope that maybe just maybe, my match will stay lit a little while longer ......as I stumble down that long tunnel. .